Blog post 5: what am I learning?

Hello, long time no write, but we're back and my thesis idea is stronger than ever!

Some updates before I delve into the prompt:

• I officially will be working with the Rochester Museum & Science Center (RMSC) to get objects for my program! I'm visiting and choosing the objects on Saturday, 11/2.
• My lit review is happening! It's not great, but we had a draft due last week that was 5 pages and used 7 sources. Baby steps, but progress nonetheless.

 So, since our lit reviews are coming along, I have been learning quite a bit about techniques and tricks for running programs, different statistics about adult learning, other projects similar to mine, and so on. For example, this afternoon I dove into sources I "stole" from my Muse Ed class from last fall, and I read about questioning strategies for getting students to arrive at an answer without just telling it to them. I also looked at some lesson plan templates and different verbs for describing outcomes. In one source, I read about how adult learning has 3 steps: acquiring knowledge, analyzing and reflecting on the knowledge, and applying the knowledge. The reflection part is apparently incredibly important, but something I would never have thought to include in my plan, so I'm glad I was able to find this source.

What do I still need to know?

Since I haven't picked out collection items yet, I still need to choose them. Once I know what I'm working with, I'll be able to construct a theme and research the facts behind the objects so that I am prepared to effectively facilitate a program about them. One of my sources said that adult learners expect the facilitator to be an expert on the subject, so I will have to be prepared for this and put in my research!
I also need to do a little more research on facilitating programs. While browsing the library stacks I came across a book that was supposedly a museum educator's handbook and I was incredibly excited to find it, but it didn't end up being that helpful. These are the two areas I'm going to concentrate future research on!

Blog post 4: revised topic paragraph

As the semester marches on, my topic grows ever narrower and more focused. Since last week's post I have been in contact with Solstice, the senior living community I plan to work with. I have also reached out to the Strong Museum of Play, yet have not heard anything from them as of the time I published this post. Once I secure a collection to work from, I will be able to further narrow my topic and outline, broadly, some lesson goals and themes I want to accomplish with my project.

Research Question: How can museums facilitate effective object-based learning 
programs for independent living community residents?

With the baby boomer generation approaching retirement and the average age of Americans increasing, 
industries must evolve to serve the growing 55+ population. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, "1 
in every 5 (U.S.) residents will be retirement age" by 2030.¹ A larger aging population means more 
people living in nursing homes, assisted living, and independent living communities. 

Traditionally, museum education has focused on school children, and more recently 
programming has branched out to include 21+ events as well. Now, however, is the time 
to expand our horizons even further and embrace museum education for all ages, especially 
for those who may not be able to visit the physical museum on their own. We have one 
decade before 20% of the population is eligible for retirement, and we must plan for this change 
in demographics in order to be prepared for the shift in visitorship.

My project will act as a bridge between a Rochester-area museum and the Solstice Senior Living 
community in Fairport, NY. I hope to create a lesson plan which will utilize a teaching collection 
chosen to both spark memories from the past and teach the residents something new. I will implement 
the program sometime in early spring semester. Following the program, I will reflect on the effectiveness
of it and make recommendations based on my experiences for those wishing to host a similar program 
in the future.

Cited: 

¹ Bureau, US Census. “Older People Projected to Outnumber Children.” 
The United States Census Bureau. Accessed September 23, 2019

Other sources I will be using:

Smiraglia, Christina. "Qualities of the Participant Experience in an Object-Based Museum 
Outreach Program to Retirement Communities." Educational Gerontology 41, no. 3 (2015): 238-248.

"Case Studies: Museum Programs for Older Adults." Roundtable Reports 9, no. 4 
(1984): 9-13. http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.rit.edu/stable/40478630.

Morrell, Roger W., and Katharina V. Echt. "Presenting Information to Older Adults."  
The Journal of Museum Education 26, no. 1 (2001): 10-12. 
 http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.rit.edu/stable/40479197.

“September 2019 Activities Calendar.” Solstice Senior Living, n.d. Accessed 
September 16, 2019. https://solsticeseniorlivingfairport.com.

Blog post 2: narrowing a topic

Hello! I have two main ideas for my thesis right now, I'll lay them out and then discuss possible pros and cons of each. This will not only fulfill the required blog post for this week, but will hopefully help me to think through them more fully, inching myself closer to a decision.

My first idea is to work with the independent living facility my grandfather lives at in Fairport, NY and a local museum and/or library to bring the residents an educational program.

Possible pros of this are it's highly related to my career goal, museum education, and it would be a great project to put on my resume for future employment and grad school. I also think the personal connection to this home would motivate me more than working with any other audience, and would hold me more accountable. Not only would my grandfather and his neighbors stand to benefit, but my parents, aunts, and uncles would all be invested too. I wouldn't want to slack off and not do my best for all of them!

One major con of this idea is that my ability to finish it relies heavily on the home allowing me to begin, a museum or library allowing me to use their collection for the project, and being able to sync my schedule up to everyone else's. While I can't envision anyone turning away a highly motivated college kid wanting to do free work for them, you never know, and I'd hate to get halfway through and suddenly be left out on the sidewalk. Another potential issue is that perhaps the home used to have programs like the one I'm envisioning, and they were a flop with the residents. Finally, I'm not sure how to articulate a research question for this project. I understand the question is something that evolves all year, but I don't even know where to start.

All that being said, my other idea is to work with the Kodak archive and do an oral history project of how Kodak affected Rochester residents.

Pros of this include the fact that I already have strong connections to Kodak and the people working with the archive and I have a good sense of the company history which would serve as my background knowledge before I began talking with people. Also, if anyone were to do a Kodak oral history project, there would be no better place to do it than right here in Rochester, and here I am!

Cons could include the Kodak archive not wanting to make use of the oral histories if they paint a negative picture of the downfall of the company. This is understandable, the bottom line of the exhibit on Ridge Road was to create an "uplifting" portrait of Kodak in the 21st century, and my hypothesis is that very few folks these days would have positive, uplifting messages to share. This could be fixed by working with the city historian or a different museum in Rochester, but if I change who I'm working with then I lose the "pro" of having those strong connections I mentioned above. The other major con for this is that while I'm incredibly interested in oral history, Rochester, Kodak, et cetera, this project does not directly tie into the whole museum education career I'm currently envisioning for myself. Of course, that's okay, but should I stick with something more focused on what I want to do in the future? Should I reconsider what I want to do in the future, if this project is pulling me in? I have no answers yet!